This year we knew we wanted to have all the Christmas gifts bought by the end of October. What with a new baby coming in November we didn’t want to think about it when things got busy. I know everyone does gifts differently, which is completely okay. I have had some questions about our gift buying habits, so I thought I would share the answers in this post.
First rule at our house – if we can’t pay cash, we don’t buy it. This includes Christmas gifts. Our finances determine the Christmas budget each fall. We do our best to save and keep from wasting our money. We also have 3 birthdays between October and Christmas to buy for, all of which is done at this time. This year, as an example, our Christmas budget was $50.00 per person. It has been less in the past. The budget for my husband and myself is the same.
Second rule at our house – we buy toys or crafty things. We don’t buy books at Christmas, or homeschool supplies, unless that is what a child is asking for. The only other time we buy toys for our children generally is their birthday, the rest of the year they have to shell out their own money for toys.
Third rule at our house – we are not opposed to yard sale toys, clearance, or other sources. This year several toys our children will receive between birthdays and Christmas were bought at a Church yard sale I attended (total spent: $5.00, total toys would cost new: $100.00). This year a dear friend called me up in early October to ask if I wanted to look through some toys she had cleared from her children’s rooms. I found some treasures there as well that will show up in Christmas gifts.
This year my husband and I did our Christmas shopping in one day, as a date. We made a list of the things we hoped to find for each child (they had given us ideas), taking what we already had stashed away into account. Then we got on the computer. We went to Amazon.com and bought more than half of our Christmas list. Many things were on sale, so we were not going to beat the price at a local store. We were able to use the Amazon giftcards I had earned with Swagbucks as well, saving on our budget even more. The things we chose not to buy on Amazon were items we were pretty sure we would get cheaper elsewhere.
That evening my mother came and watched the children (thank you mom!). My husband and I had our much smaller list in hand. First stop – WalMart. We bought a couple toys from the list. Then we went over one street to Toys R Us and bought the rest. We grabbed a milkshake on the way home and it was a fun date night – something we don’t do nearly often enough.
When all was said and done we stayed within our budget (with room to spare) and each child will get around 5 gifts to open. One thing that really made a difference was having found a few things through the yard sale, from our friend, and getting some deals on Amazon. Now all that is left to do is get things wrapped. That will have to wait, however, because I can’t sit on the floor and bend over enough to wrap much of anything with this baby belly in the way…LOL!
Do you have any Christmas gift buying rules? Have you finished your shopping, not even started, or somewhere in between? What is your budget for each child? Leave a comment because enquiring minds want to know how it works in other families!
11 comments:
Great rules! Our budget changes each year too, but I I don't break it down per child. I just say we have x amount this year. That amount will include not only our three children but also our neices and nephews, parents, and siblings. If the budget doesn't allow then it's only the kids who get gifts. That's how it is this year. And, on my side of the family we're drawing names for the six grandkids. (I'll still have to buy three gifts but my sister, who only has one son won't have to buy five gifts.)
I shop year round for both Christmas and birthdays. Clearance sales at the end of each season are great! (I've had one of my daughter's gifts for about three months already and it cost me $3 rather than $39.99.)
Do you have any rules for grandparents or others who buy for your kids?
In the last 3-4 years our budget has gone from $1 per extended family member to $5 and now is at $10. For the boys and us adults the limit is $20. I keep reminding myself this year that while $20 doesn't seem like much it is twice we we had other years.Also that christmas isn't about getting but about Jesus and giving. I'm planning on celebrating Advent to the fullest this year and making the whole season special not just Christmas day.
We don't have a strict budget, but we do make sure it is all cash, no credit. We do layaway, yard sales, thrift stores, giftcards or gifts earned through surveys, mypoints or swagbucks, I gather things all year from freecycle and friends giviing things away. Infact this christmas my son wants a Geotrax train set, and it just so happened one of the ladies in my homeschool group was giving her sons one away because he doesnt use it anymore! so now it is set aside for under the tree.
Great rules and it sounds like your children will have a blast this Christmas!
While we don't have a budget, I am beyond frugal (I am told, otherwise I think I am just normal!) and have a thing against buying new (environment, consumerism etc) so that solves a lot of problems :) We also don't focus on gifts at Christmas, so as long as there is at least one thing to open, we are set. What can I say, I am not a shopper (hate it actually), so I trained my family to focus elsewhere :) Everyone gets something new only if they expressed a wish over the year, and to that I add treasures from garage sales and freecycle. My friends and I also swap like-new toys, so those will show up under the tree too. My husband shops for me on his own, so my gift will be a surprise - actually this year I gave him no hints so I am curious myself.
Annie - we really only have one longstanding rule for grandparents: No barbies! We have never allowed our girls to have barbie dolls, which began because 97% or more of them are dressed immodestly. It's worked out fine. If I was a great seamstress I could sew clothes for them but I'm not!
Oh, and modest dress for us (what we expect from our family, and what we expect reflected on our toys/dolls) means no sleeveless or tank tops, no belly showing, no tight fitted shirts, no short shorts/skirts/dresses. They need to hit the knee at least, and we often have younger girls wear shorts underneath if they're playing to keep everything covered.
CeAnne, we've had years with a $20.00 budget too. We also don't usually spend money for gifts on extended family, or we may let the kids do a gift exchange where everyone has one name (but that is only when cousins live near enough).
As the grandma in question, I must remind you that you gave me a "no living thing" rule this year too when I told you Makayla asked for frogs from the Science catalog... But really, as a grandparent and not the parent, I think it is important to always listen to the guidance given on gifts. A parent knows their children and household better and should always be heeded.
That's right mom, I knew that there was something else this year... I'm glad you remember because I really don't want any living presents coming this year.
No real rules, every year varies with age and needs and of course all is always determined by the cash in hand. I am a sort of minimalist and I can't imagine why on earth my girls would need ANOTHER DOLL or my boys would need another lego...so this year if it works out everyone will get something personal and small from Santa and then I'm hoping to add a "playset" to our yard... dig a sandbox, fix our tramp..ect. We'll see... it's not really looking like that is going to all be in the budget.
LOL... I told my mom if she was going to do something for the kids "we" would all love a really great microscope!
I try to get educational toys. A lot of what Marshall (5) asks for is not going to actually be played with. I admit I go overboard (or at least have in the past) and our $150/kid budget often gets closer to $200. I know - slap my wrist. I love toys and big Christmases. This year we'll be lucky to have $50/kid though. I'm learning as I go. What can I say?
This comment is for Nikki~
Growing up we didn't have a lot of money. My parents never financed anything except a business, not even their houses or cars. Our birthdays were small and we hardly ever got toys for anything else...BUT Christmas was huge! My parents especially my Dad made this the most exciting time of the year. Everything was special... I won't go into more details but I had a sister- in-law criticize because she said they were taking it away from the true meaning. Not at all! Nothing was financed and we found a family to give gifts, money and food to every year. Every year especially as I got older I would be touched emotionally by how much my parents sacrificed for us... and it always brought me to thinking about Heavenly Father and Christ and their sacrifices for us. My parents still probably spend thousands of $$ on Us and their grandkids (there are 8 siblings, 4 married)... and so what? if they have the money and that is where they want to spend it? What is wrong with that? My Dad did have one fast rule ..."No clothes” he wanted it to be as “fun” as possible... he could never understand why I wanted them…LOL
My husband and I don’t follow the Christmas tradition of our families (LOL my mother-in-law gives everyone a pack of socks for each Holiday… I feel like my kids have so much and it’s coming from so many places they don’t need it to be like that…nonetheless it is special in its own way and that is what is important.
So all I have to say is, I don't think there should ever be some "amount rule", it's about the whole spirit of the thing. Are you going past what your budget allows... are you buying them things they don't really need...like multiples or really worldly things that are taking away from family time? Do you feel rushed and stressed by the season... those are the things to ask one ’s self.
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